Unit

25: TV and Video Studies Essay

Name: Adam Cassidy

Student ID: Cas15092524

Course: Level 3Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
(TV & Film)

Unit: 25 TV and Video Studies

Tutor: Conor Glynn

Batman

Synopsis -
As a child, a young Bruce Wayne witnesses the death of his parents at the hands
of a crazed criminal. As an adult, Bruce travels the world seeking the means to
fight injustice. He lives among the boroughs of criminals and thieves in central
Asia. Eventually, he meets a mysterious figure named Ra's Al Guhl and joins his
gang called the League Of Shadows. Using his training, he is able to defeat his
trainer. Finally meeting up with his estate caretaker Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce
Wayne returns to Gotham. There, he becomes the new head of Wayne
Enterprises. Together with the help of the CEO of the Wayne Enterprises Applied
Sciences division, a man name Lucius Fox, he dons a new persona: Batman. As
Batman takes on the criminals and organized crime underworld of Gotham, a
sinister new underbelly of the city is exposed, and a new class of criminal is born.
Will Batman be the one to stop them all, or does Gotham need a hero with a face?

Genre
Batman has a lot of different aspects to it but it is mainly a drama and action film.
It is considered an action film as there is an extensive amount of fighting and
quick paced scenes such as running and car chases. It is also considered a drama
as well because there is story to it, and that is one of the main structures to the
entire series of films.

Narrative
Batman is presented in the film as a linear narrative as the story timeline only
flows in one direction and there are flashbacks, always returning to the present.

Analytical Approach
The Batman series is aimed towards a teenage to adult audience, as there is
violence and some harsh themes. There is fighting and strong language so quite
young people will not be able to watch these scenes.

Codes

Action: the series is built on action with choreographed fighting scenes and
quick paced car chases and explosions.

Enigmatic: the Batman films are structured around the characters and story that
they tell but there is often no clear answers to their questions and there is a lot
to interoperate and leaves the viewers thinking about what is going to happen is
the future of the story and the characters well-being.

Symbolic: the characters are often given options and different choices to make,
but some are symbolic as they bring up situations where they are hard decisions
to be made and gives the viewer a better experience as it is not all clear cut.

Game of Thrones

Synopsis
Nine families fight for control of Westeros. Robert Baratheon, King of Westeros,
asks his friend Eddard Stark, to serve as Hand of the King. Secretly warned that
the previous Hand was assassinated, Eddard accepts in order to investigate
further. Meanwhile the Queen's family, the Lannisters, are making a plot to take
power. Across the sea, the Targaryens, are also plotting to take back the throne.
The friction between the houses Stark, Lannister, Baratheon and Targaryen and
with the remaining great houses Greyjoy, Tully, Arryn, Tyrell and Martell leads to
full-scale war. While a very ancient and evil awakens in the farthest north.
Amongst the war and political confusion, a neglected military order of misfits,
the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors
beyond.

Genre
Game of Thrones is a fantasy because it all takes place in an imaginary world
with dragons and magic. It is also an action as there is an extensive amount of
fighting with blood and gore in huge battles. As well as that, it is a drama; there
are over 150 characters in Game of Thrones. This makes for a lot of storylines
and therefore there will be plenty of conflicts and rivalries, creating a pile of
story.

Narrative
Game of Thrones is presented in a linear format with a steady storyline through
the whole show, showing occasional flashbacks and flash-forwards always
coming back to the present to continue the story that is ever changing.

Analytical Approach
The Game of Thrones series is intended for a mature audience as it has very
extreme themes such as violence, sex and murder. This show is not suitable for
those under the age of 18.

Codes

Action: there are many action scenes throughout the seasons and it is heavily
reliant on them to give the audience a satisfactory feeling. There are also a lot of
fast paced sequences so the action is more intense.

Enigmatic: there are lots of characters that are difficult to interpret such as
Varys and petyr Baelish, these characters are very mysterious and it is hard to
tell what they want, unlike any other characters.

Symbolic: in the show there are piles of visual clues to what people want and
they intend to do, with things such as facial expressions and how they talk. There
are also many themes to each family and the colours tell a lot about them.

Friends

Synopsis
Rachel Green, Ross Geller, Monica Geller, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing and
Phoebe Buffay are all friends, living off of one another in the heart of New York
City. Over the course of ten years, this group of friends go through massive
mayhem, family trouble, past and future romances, fights, laughs, tears and
surprises as they learn what it really means to be friends.

Genre
This show has a few genres, mainly comedy as there are lots of jokes and there is
an audience that laughs every time there is a joke. The rapport between each of
the characters is very jokey and they are all very loose with each other. This
allows for them to bounce off one another when telling joke. It is also a big drama
as there are many conflicts throughout the show with breakups and conflicting
attitudes with different outlooks on things.

Narrative
Friends is a linear narrative as the storys timeline travels in one direction with
some flashbacks but always coming back to the original time and carrying on
with the story where it left off.

Analytical Approach
The show is intended for a teenage to adult audience because it is about
relationships as Rachel and Ross have a complicated relationship and so dose a
few others; it would be a bit confusing for the younger audience to understand
the storyline and all the things that happens.

Codes

Enigmatic: the show is filled with interesting character and setups and within
these there are a lot of things to think about when it comes to all their
relationships and thought about one another.

Symbolic: as the show is all about friends there is a lot of visual body language
to read between all the characters when they talk to each other and what they
really think can be read within that.